Plan for huge Laois quarry in scenic Slieve Bloom stalls
Campaigners who have appealed insist bauty spot is 'totally unsuitable' for 'huge' commercial extraction
Plans to extract 800,000 tonnes of sand and gravel in the Slieve Bloom Mountains have stalled due by locals living very close to the site in Laois.
Anne and Michael Carroll have appealed Laois County Council’s decision TO grant a ten year approval for to operate the quarry on property in the townlands of Mounthall and Cummer near Camross in the Slieve Blooms.
If the appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála fails, the proposal would see the quarry's size extend from 1.2 hectares to about eight hectares. The existing 1.2 hectares have been out of use for many years. The business behind the project is Breedon Materials Ltd, is headquartered in the UK.
The drone photo below shows the existing sandpit in the surrounding pastoral landscape.
In their submission to Laois County Council, Anne and Michael Carroll said their home is one of six residential properties located within 250 metres of the proposed development. They said the proposed development was of “massive concern” to them. They expressed concerns about their water supply, which comes from a private well, and about the dust and noise which the development would produce.
The Carrolls pointed out that there are no footpaths and no cycle lanes along the roads and they would be unsafe for either pedestrians or cyclists.
They asked: “It is very obvious these roads are not able for the level and size of vehicles that are already travelling on them so how are they expected to deal with a further minimum amount of 24 HGVs per day?”
Kathy Phelan Bracken of the Save Glendine campaign also lives within 250 metres of the proposed development.
“Breedon will transform this sandpit into a huge commercial quarry. The proposed area is located in the foothills of the Slieve Blooms in the beautiful Glendine valley. The Slieve Blooms are a beauty spot and this proposal is totally unsuitable. The site also borders a nature reserve, home to the Hen Harrier conservation project, home to migratory birds.
"This bridge is beyond the quarry, further into Glendine, and we are worried that it could mean HGVs going over Glendine Gap (a mountain pass) on a completely unsuitable road with the aim of travelling across three counties to the company's Kinnegad depot where over 50% of the material will be exported abroad,” said Ms Phelan.
It is not certain when An Coimisiún Pleanála will reach its decision on the appeal.